It is the early morning of April 16th 2022 when we begin our trip to Stoumont. It’s a journey of a few hours, so we came well-prepared. After more than 200 kilometers of Belgium’s fantastic road infrastructure, we have arrived at the entrance of Sanatorium du Basil. We decided to park at the front office that is still in use by some company, rather than park at the sanatorium itself.
The parking lot is pretty busy, plenty of Dutch number plates. Which means that we’re probably not the only ones exploring the place. We walk the last part of the road, and there it is. A (still) beautiful abandoned building in the middle of a forest. It’s our first time exploring a building of this size, we split up in two groups of two and decide each to go our own way.
Starting at the ground level, we make our way through the completely vandalized hallway that is filled with debris. We knew that the sanatorium was in a bad state, but not this bad. If you ignore the graffiti, you could say that the place has been empty and decaying for over 50 years. While in reality, this place has only been abandoned since 2013, and heavily vandalized since 2017. It’s to be expected, since it is one of the most popular urbex places.
It’s sad to see such a beautiful place in such a terrible state. The people that vandalized the sanatorium ruined everything they came across. Walls, doors (we haven’t seen a single door in the entire building), elevators and even the stairs. There’s nothing left to indicate that this once was a TBC hospital.
So what’s actually left of Sanatorium du Basil in 2022? The building is still there, some parts of the electric network and fuse boxes, and the water/heating installation are still there. Other than that, the entire interior is gone, nothing, no doors, chairs, tables or anything. Even the fire hoses are gone. Speaking of which, parts of the sanatorium have been set a fire. Walls and ceilings completely black from the smoke.
So is it still worth visiting Sanatorium du Basil in 2022? Apart from the vandalism, yes! It’s still a beautiful place to see. Tons of places to discover, the little tower is still there. It’s an amazing piece of architecture to see. From what I’ve heard, the sanatorium has been bought by an investor, so better visit it while you still can!
Hopefully this post informs you enough about the current state of Sanatorium du Basil. If you’re planning to visit it, be sure to wear some good shoes. There is glass everywhere, there are some place with metal parts sticking out of the ground. Some stairs are missing, so you may have to do some little acrobatics to get to upper floors. The back area and the basement are pretty dark, so you might want to bring some flashlights if you plan on exploring those (no, your phone’s flashlight will not have enough light).
